Are Casey and Masai Really on the Same Page

We have had a chance to see Masai in several pressers, as well as listen to some interviews on the radio. ditto for Casey. The latest audio clip, from McCowan's interview on June 19th after the announcement that Casey was going to continue as head coach for the year, contains several flat out declarations from Casey.

Most telling for me was his statement that they essentially agree on the strengths and weaknesses of the roster. There was a little hedging by Casey immediately after he said they were on the same page with regards to the individual players. I am not sure if this means they disagree that they need to move particular guys, or maybe if they disagree on a particular guys value to the team. Hypothetically they could disagree over Amir...Casey putting a higher value on the fact that the is zero maintenance, supports his teammates 100%, and is almost always available to play for instance, as opposed to Masai maybe saying he has a weak jumpshot from more than 12 feet out and wanting someone who is a better passer (I'm just making this shit up to give an example).

Casey and Masai have both stated how important the culture of the team is, which aligns completely with what Casey said in his first year. They have both described pretty much the same culture, from what I have heard and read...that is one where players put the team first, everybody goes hard every play, good effort is rewarded, players are expected to work on their individual games, and everybody in the organization has their eyeballs fixed on a championship.

One the other hand, last year we heard Casey make some statements that, on the face of it, were incredible. The infamous 'We're going to go with Bargnani no matter what...He's our guy' (paraphrasing) which sounded more like words BC was putting in his mouth. So he is quite capable of spouting the party line apparently...hard to believe he actually believed what he was saying there.

Ha, just listened to the interview with Masai from TSN. Pretty much answers the question.

According to Masai they both agree on the team direction, Masai looks forward to having the opportunity to hear differing points of view and has no problem with it.

On another note, Masia mentions he has tried to hire Bobby Webster three times and is glad to have finally made it. I wonder if the reason he finally succeeded was because TLSE allowed him to offer more money than Denver did.

Ha, just listened to the interview with Masai from TSN. Pretty much answers the question.

According to Masai they both agree on the team direction, Masai looks forward to having the opportunity to hear differing points of view and has no problem with it.

On another note, Masia mentions he has tried to hire Bobby Webster three times and is glad to have finally made it. I wonder if the reason he finally succeeded was because TLSE allowed him to offer more money than Denver did.

Probably. I mean, they did pluck him from NY. I don't know if they were paying him a lot, but I doubt Denver would be willing to bid on him, considering they wouldn't bid on their own GM. Money's usually the biggest factor.

I also wouldn't discount the possibility that it being a move to Toronto, not Denver, while not critical, was a nice bonus, especially if you're coming from NY.

Probably. I mean, they did pluck him from NY. I don't know if they were paying him a lot, but I doubt Denver would be willing to bid on him, considering they wouldn't bid on their own GM. Money's usually the biggest factor.

I also wouldn't discount the possibility that it being a move to Toronto, not Denver, while not critical, was a nice bonus, especially if you're coming from NY.

We have had a chance to see Masai in several pressers, as well as listen to some interviews on the radio. ditto for Casey. The latest audio clip, from McCowan's interview on June 19th after the announcement that Casey was going to continue as head coach for the year, contains several flat out declarations from Casey.

Most telling for me was his statement that they essentially agree on the strengths and weaknesses of the roster. There was a little hedging by Casey immediately after he said they were on the same page with regards to the individual players. I am not sure if this means they disagree that they need to move particular guys, or maybe if they disagree on a particular guys value to the team. Hypothetically they could disagree over Amir...Casey putting a higher value on the fact that the is zero maintenance, supports his teammates 100%, and is almost always available to play for instance, as opposed to Masai maybe saying he has a weak jumpshot from more than 12 feet out and wanting someone who is a better passer (I'm just making this shit up to give an example).

Casey and Masai have both stated how important the culture of the team is, which aligns completely with what Casey said in his first year. They have both described pretty much the same culture, from what I have heard and read...that is one where players put the team first, everybody goes hard every play, good effort is rewarded, players are expected to work on their individual games, and everybody in the organization has their eyeballs fixed on a championship.

One the other hand, last year we heard Casey make some statements that, on the face of it, were incredible. The infamous 'We're going to go with Bargnani no matter what...He's our guy' (paraphrasing) which sounded more like words BC was putting in his mouth. So he is quite capable of spouting the party line apparently...hard to believe he actually believed what he was saying there.

What do you think? Same page, or not, or maybe?

I think Casey would speak his mind. When he said that line about bargnani, you could see in his face that although he was saying the party line, he said it aloud just to make someone realize how ridiculous it sounded

@Puffer you mean Casey talking about wanting hard nosed vets a big to get boards and tough buckets while Ujiri is talking all youth and more youth building towards a team that ages and develops together?

When Tom asked what do you want done with the Roster? I was waiting and hoping for I think Tom was too a Bargnani trade answer, But Casey showed maturity and gave another good answer, and I dont think he wants to waste his breath on anymore topics related to Bargnani...

Ujiri has been moot about Bargs as well What about Bargnani?? "Right...now Bargnani is......A Toronto Raptor... hahaha" -Ujiri

Good interview but I can't stand hearing we have enough youth. Enough already. Enough. Please.

You need TALENT.

TALENT.

It does not matter how old the TALENT is.

Lets look at the average age of the Raptors: 26.3
That is tied for 12th with 2 other teams (one being OKC). 13 teams in the league are as young or younger.
The youngest team in the league is Houston - a rising playoff team. Of those 13 teams who are younger, 5 are playoff teams. 1 was a conference finalist. MEM was .1 of a year older and another conference finalist.

The Raptors are 13th in experience: 4.3 years.
There are 4 playoff teams with LESS experience and one of those teams (4th least experience - Indiana) was a conference finalist.

A lot of what we are hearing now is just lip service.. we won't really know how it plays out until the season starts. Casey was saying some great things prior to the start of last season - but then they started 4-19 and then 'hell or high water' happened. I am going to take any thing they say now with a huge grain of salt.

One thing for sure is that Casey is on the hot seat.. this could be his last head coaching job for a long while, or possibly forever.. it's nice that Masai is giving him a year to prove himself but if I were Casey I would be doing exactly what Masai wanted me to do so that I have a chance of coming back next season.

A lot of what we are hearing now is just lip service.. we won't really know how it plays out until the season starts. Casey was saying some great things prior to the start of last season - but then they started 4-19 and then 'hell or high water' happened. I am going to take any thing they say now with a huge grain of salt.

Yep. The one thing that gives me some confidence, as opposed to the "culture change" after Bosh left, is that there is a new group of people in charge implementing the changes. Not saying it will work but it has a far greater chance of success than what has previously been tried.

As for Casey, he'll coach the way he needs to coach to keep his job. As for personnel, Ujiri gave Karl a mix of youth and vets and one of the supposed fault lines was Karl relying too much on guys like Miller and Iggy and not playing some of the younger guys enough. Just food for thought.

Was hearing the interview in the car so not particularly fully attentive but I heard DC somewhat waffle on the "total agreement with Masai" position when he said (paraphrase) "we may not be on the same paragraph but are definitely on the same page". I chuckled.

As others have noted does DC have any choice about doing exactly what MU expects?

@Puffer you mean Casey talking about wanting hard nosed vets a big to get boards and tough buckets while Ujiri is talking all youth and more youth building towards a team that ages and develops together?...

More or less. the particular quote that got me thinking was when the discussion got to the roster. Casey pointed to a difference in how they saw particular payers value. I took that to mean that Casey might put a high value on Amir (as a hypothetical example) for whatever reason, and want to retain him, whereas Masai might not value him so much, or not enough to keep as opposed to trade. I caught distinct overtones that there had been some discussion about particular players where they were going to agree to disagree.

If Casey and Masai are not on the same page, I hope Casey heeds the words of Bill Russell and the assessment he has of Red and Pop:

"(Late Celtics coach Red) Auerbach had a system where there's a place for every kind of player," Russell said. "Never once in the years he coached that I was there did I ever hear him say to a player, 'You have to change this.' He said my job as a coach is to figure out what you do, and find a place in the system."

It's not all that different than what Popovich has been able to do with the Spurs, making the most of role players like Steve Kerr, Brent Barry, Bruce Bowen in the past and Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Matt Bonner in the present. Asked if he saw similarities between the Celtics' Red Auerbach and Popovich, Russell agreed.

"Yeah," he said. "Even when they had a bad year, it was a good year. I think he does a remarkable job."

My bad, just skimmed the news about it, and New York stood out....either way, money is probably a factor, as well as city. I don't know how much a league office job pays, but I can't imagine it's significantly different than a job in a team's office. If someone is asking you to move from NYC to Denver for work, there better be a pretty hefty payraise. And again, the city/lifestyle adjustment to Toronto would probably be preferred than Denver for someone coming from NYC.

I don't know. I'm not saying it's good if they are not on the same page, but I do feel like there's a bit more transparency in the PR process now.

As many have said, you could definitely feel that BC was pulling Casey's strings, both as a coach and in front of the cameras. It was so incredibly obvious a lot of the time when Casey was saying something he didn't really want.

I don't get that impression with Ujiri. They are both being diplomatic and trying to say the right things, but it doesn't feel like they're being prepped with the same talking points.

On whether they actually are on the same page, I'm ok with the comment about not being on the same paragraph or whatever. It may indeed be something as simple about how to fill out the roster (favour youth or vets?) or some crap like that. Casey obviously wants vets. Ujiri obviously just wants to see about adding talent, and making the end of bench younger. I'm sure that last part pisses Casey off since he loves his end of bench vets. Either way, if they can't totally get in sync, Casey is gone next summer, no harm done. If they can, then that should only be positive for the team.

I don't think it's veterans, strictly speaking, that the Raptors lack. It's leadership. This team is so lacking in that it's brutal. Lowry was a big disappointment in that aspect last season. We'll see if he can turn it around because he definitely has the tools, including character, to be a team leader. I also think JV is a natural leader, and is another reason I consider him untouchable, aside from the obvious benefits of a 2-way big with all-star talent. Gay showed some leadership qualities, but just doesn't seem to have that presence about him. Adding a vet is usually the easiest way to give a big injection of leadership to the roster...but it also has to be from an important player, much like West's addition helping Indiana.

If Casey and Masai are not on the same page, I hope Casey heeds the words of Bill Russell and the assessment he has of Red and Pop:

I think a system needs all sorts of players, absolutely. All those guys listed were extremely skilled in a particular dimension, whether it's 3pt shooting (Kerr, Green, Bonner) or defense (Bowen, Leonard). I think a problem only surfaces when players either have no clear skill in which they excel, or when a team has too much redundancy of a certain skill and not enough of a different certain skill.

Also, in general, I think there's been a pendulum in many major sports over the past decade or so, which swings from a preference for specialized players to a preference for well rounded players. I think under BC the Raptors have been going more for broadly athletic players, who tend to be well rounded (good at everything, but great at nothing). I'm hoping to see the Raptors pendulum swing back to more specialization, where you want guys who are well above average at particular skills (ie: passing, rebounding, defense, 3pt shooting, interior offense, etc...). It's then up to the coach to build a system that effectively fits all those skills together.

I think that's why so many posters on RR look at the Raptors' current roster and say that while there are many talented players, the overall skill level in certain areas and the breakdown/fit of those various skills is severely lacking. I think that's also why there's been so much argument about the redundancy of players like Amir/Davis and Gay/DeRozan; there's no doubting the individual overall talent of these guys, but rather the level of a specific skill and/or the fit of the skill(s) they each bring to the table (whether in the starting lineup or more generally to the roster).

If Casey and Masai are not on the same page, I hope Casey heeds the words of Bill Russell and the assessment he has of Red and Pop:

While a commendable trait and talent to possess in a coach, the reality is both Red and Popovich have/had great say (if not final say) in the players they draft or trade for...so the acquired talent pool available start at second base sotospeak in terms of incorporation into their system. They follow a tempplate. For the vast majority of teams and the well run orgs. it is the constant communication between coach and the GM that also permits similar results if input in personnel choices are discussed internally so all are on the same page.... which MU has said shall be a pillar of his GMship.